"South Korea's Ban Ki Moon has formally taken over as the new United Nations' secretary-general. Mr Ban, a former foreign minister of South Korea, takes over from Kofi Annan, who led the United Nations for a decade. Mr Ban says he will focus on easing divisions among the UN's member nations, particularly over the composition of the powerful security council. He says he will also aim to repair relations between the UN and the United States. Relations have been frayed by the UN's opposition to the US-led war in Iraq and the devastating oil for food scandal. Mr Ban is well placed to handle one of the key international challenges facing the UN this year - persuading North Korea to end its nuclear ambitions. Mr Ban says he will be much less outspoken than Mr Annan (ed. note: I sure as hell hope so.), preferring to work behind the scenes to achieve UN objectives. He will serve an initial term of five years."Hey, speaking of the UN zip over to LGF and vote John Bolton for the Oriana. Oh, and Kofi for the Fiskie. Kofi is in a tight race for the top honor. The crook. I'm glad to see him go...

"Under heavy American pressure, the Iraqi government ordered two Iranians who had been detained in an American military raid to leave the country, Iraqi officials said Friday, ending a bitter, nine-day political standoff. The detention brought the increasingly strained relationship between the Iraqis who run this country and their American backers to one of its lowest ebbs.

The Americans had insisted that the Iranians had been running guns and planning sectarian attacks and had pressed the Iraqis to expel them as intruders.

Iraqi officials said Friday that it was clear that the men, who were not publicly identified but were described as Iranian military officials by the Bush administration, had not been entirely forthcoming about what they were doing in Iraq. Even so, the Iraqis said they believed that the evidence against the men was mostly circumstantial and not as damning as the Americans had portrayed. For that reason, the Iraqis said, the government decided to release them..."

Unfortunately, I think this says it all about the situation and the implications are not good. Oh, and have I expressed my contempt for the diplomatic corps recently?:

"While the outcome was constructed to satisfy all sides, the episode, which began with an Iranian Embassy Mercedes being pulled over and led to a raid on the compound of Abdul Aziz al-Hakim, a powerful Shiite leader, deeply upset many Iraqi officials, who had been carefully building relations with Iran.

Mr. Zebari said that the men were visitors, not accredited diplomats as some officials had initially asserted, but that they had entered the country legally. It remained unclear on Friday night whether they had come at the invitation of Iraq’s president, Jalal Talabani. A spokesman has said the invitation was been extended during a visit to Tehran by Mr. Talabani this month."

Oh, the Slimes makes me so sick. Their smug satisfaction at the fact that the US got out manuevered by Iran on this one practically oozes out of the screen:

"American officials have long asserted that Iran is sending weapons and money into Iraq to fuel violence here, but the episode last week was the first one in which they made such high-level arrests. A number of Iranians have been arrested here but most entered the country illegally and none had been directly tied to the government.

The American military did not publicly present the evidence it said was found in the raid. Some of it was believed to have included receipts for sniper rifles and sophisticated bombs as well as maps of Baghdad identifying neighborhoods as Sunni, Shiite or mixed — the primary preoccupation of militias in Iraq’s deepening sectarian war.

But the Iraqis said that the arrest had been more of a blunder and that if the suspected crimes had been serious, the Americans would never have released them."

On another note; there have been more bomb attacks in Bangkok, bringing the total bombings in the country today to eight.

"More Than 1,000 Wounded During Muslim Animal Sacrifice in Turkey — One man lost his toes. Others cut their hands and legs. Hundreds of Turks spent the first day of the Muslim feast of Eid al-Adha holiday in emergency wards on Sunday, after stabbing themselves or suffering other injuries while sacrificing startled and agitated sheep and other animals."

"In the name of Baghdad's Citizens Gathering, we pledge allegiance to Gen. Izzat Ibrahim al-Douri as the legitimate president of Iraq and the chief of the armed forces," said the statement.

I would love to see somebody get this scumbag.

"Ibrahim, Saddam's former deputy and now a fugitive with a $10 million bounty on his head, has not been seen since the fall of Saddam's regime in April 2003. He is believed to be leading Baathists participating in the insurgency that has left thousands of U.S. and allied troops dead."

"Set apart by their pink appearance - including pink roofs, - the 'LadiesTaxis' will not only be visibly different. The fleet will be driven by a team of 100 female drivers, including 25 UAE nationals, who according to the RTA have undergone specialised training, focusing on driving skills and dealing with women and children in emergency situations."

I did watch the cellphone video of the execution that appeared on the internet this morning and I was taken aback at the squalid conditions that it took place under. It didn't make the Iraqis look very good IMO - what, they couldn't afford a coat of paint to make the thing look a LITTLE professional? And what about those carrying out justice? They couldn't have put them in some kind of uniform instead of having them look like street thugs? Then there was that whole taunting thing. Was that really necessary? I don't think so. Finally, what was a damn cellphone doing in the execution chamber?

Really sloppy.

The Counterterrorism blog has an excellent critique of the whole shebang here. Here's a tease:

The timing of his execution was a mistake. I don't expect a surge in violence in Iraq because pretty much all the remaining Ba'athists there have professed a conversion to radical Islam, and there have been no serious efforts by jihadist factions to condemn the execution. Saddam does have a following among ex-pat Ba'athists in Jordan and Syria, but they don't have the infrastructure to carry out retaliatory attacks. However, the timing of Saddam's execution has a deleterious effect that is more difficult to measure empirically. Eid al-Adha is one of Islam's two most important holidays, and today throughout the Muslim world the holiday is being overshadowed by Saddam's execution...

Earlier today: I'm sitting here with my umpteenth cup of coffee staring at the remains of last night's dinner party. I've been at it since ten and I've got two dishwasher loads down and one more to go. The house still reeks of Cohiba smoke and Vodka Martinis, the table linens need laundered but hey! That stuff will just have to wait. Don't you know I've got an Islamic jihad to fight?

This OBVIOUSLY TROUBLING development seems to be going unnoticed in all the Saddam hoopla. Remember those two high ranking Iranians captured by the US in Iraq a few days back? They were released to Iran by the Iraqis on Friday. They weren't just your Average Ahmed either:

One of the commanders, identified by officials simply as Chizari, was the third-highest-ranking official of the Iranian Revolutionary Guards' al-Quds Brigade, the unit most active in aiding, arming and training groups outside Iran, including Hezbollah and Islamic Jihad, U.S. officials said. The other commander was described as equally significant to Iran's support of foreign militaries but not as high-ranking.Here's what they found on them:

U.S. defense officials familiar with the raids said the captured Iranians had detailed weapons lists, documents pertaining to shipments of weapons into Iraq, organizational charts, telephone records and maps, among other sensitive intelligence information. Officials were particularly concerned by the fact that the Iranians had information about importing modern, specially shaped explosive charges into Iraq, weapons that have been used in roadside bombs to target U.S. military armored vehicles...

This just stinks to high heaven:

Adding to the political sensitivity of the situation, the two men were detained while inside the compound of Abdul Aziz al-Hakim, one of the most powerful Shiite leaders in Iraq. The Bush administration is hoping Hakim can build a moderate coalition of Shiite, Sunni and Kurdish parties that can bring national reconciliation to a fractured Iraq.

Oh, and have I mentioned my disdain for the diplomatic corps lately?

The Iraqi government decided to honor Tehran's claims that the two detainees had diplomatic immunity. U.S. officials had argued that although the men had diplomatic passports, they were operating under aliases and therefore not immune.

I found this intriguing:

Despite their frustration at the release of the Iranians, U.S. officials said a strong message has been sent to Iran that its operatives will be tracked down and that it will be held accountable for its activities in Iraq.

This gives me hope that the US will be rounding up a lot of double dealing Shias in the days to come. God bless our troops. Go get'em, boys.

U.S. officials said they now had a treasure trove of data from computers and documents and the lists of weaponry recently shipped to Iraq

Friday, December 29, 2006

Some of the save Saddam Hossein (sic) Anty(sic)Terrorism Movement crowd.

Well, it looks like the Butcher of Baghdad (remember that?) is going to meet his virgins tonight. So here's a little something to chew on while you wait.

Iran's Main Mullah, Ayatollah Khameini "Disavows the Pagans" here and you guessed it, nothing says pagan quite like all of us Western Infidels:

"Underlining the need for consolidating the united Islamic identity, Ayatollah Khamenei said the American government, the domineering capitalism of the West and the corrupt Zionist political lobbyists have begun to sense the truth of the Islamic awakening..."

Evidently Arlen Specter has had his Islamic awakening. What a POS this guy is. I can't for the life of me figure out what he thinks he is doing in Syria - although personal aggrandizement and massive self ego stroking do come to mind. Read all about Arlen's fantastic journey here at SANA. Perhaps he entertained his Syrian buds with an old-fashioned Pennsylvania rain dance? That would be nice and friendly-like. Meanwhile, on the heels of his visit Syria's Information Minister, Mohsen Bilal, cites the Baker-Hamilton report in his victory declaration here. It seems Syria has been right all along and now the world is agreeing with them. Israel must go! More Specterpalooza. Michael Rubin posits this point over at The Corner.

"Give Specter credit, though. There’s not even a Four Seasons for him to stay in, in Tehran. Nor is there a U.S. embassy whose staff he can task to arrange squash games for him. One of these days, some U.S. Embassy is going to leak or an enterprising journalist is going to FOIA a Specter visit cable so taxpayers can see his, um, unique requirements" (Ed. Note: I'd love to get a load of these wouldn't you?)

Speaking of points, Caroline Glick's latest take on the Iranian situation is here. Her opinion differs from the one recently expressed by Victor Davis Hanson here. Al-Ahram Weekly's is here. All are thought provoking. Who's the closest to being right, I wonder?

Looks like Mahmoud is putting out the booty call for more babies....and the Muslim World League wants to sue your ass.

Monday, December 18, 2006

It's funny. I've been smelling horseshit here in Kansas - there are horse drawn (lighted) carriages making the rounds of the Country Club Plaza for the tourists and holiday revelers. I read this happy horseshit and couldn't believe it. The absolute cluelessness of people never ceases to amaze me.

"Over 170 buses in Richmond, Virginia have one of three signs with Arabic writing promoting silly sayings like, "Paper, Scissors, Rock" and "Paper or Plastic." The bus company has been getting calls from riders wanting to know what the signs mean."

They go on to say:

"Sometimes when people see or hear a language they do not understand it scares them. Muslims stare fear and mistrust in the face almost daily. With these bus signs we are saying that even though we fear what we don't understand we are able to overcome that fear by learning about others. We can rethink bias, but it starts with learning about our neighbors."

Jakarta Police guard thousands of churches, mosquesJAKARTA (Antara): Jakarta Police will guard thousands of churches and mosques in the capital days prior to religious holidays -- Christmas for Christians and Idul Adha for Muslims. "We will deploy 16,000 out of 28,000 police officers available in the capital prior to Christmas 2006 and Idul Adha," Jakarta Police spokesman Sr. Comr. Ketut Untung Yoga Ana was quoted by Antara news agency as saying Monday. Ketut said that police recorded that there are 1,406 churches and 1,691 mosques, which would become target of police guards, who would be backed by military officers. He also called on the people not to carry any packages while they want to carry out religious services in their respected worship houses. According to Ketut, the police open possibility for activists of non-governmental organizations to take part in securing worship houses, but they have to coordinate with the police before they deployed their members. --> (Ed. Note: This sounds like trouble to me.)

Bomb hoax rocks Christian radioJAKARTA: Staff at Radio Pelita Kasih, which airs religious songs and Christian teachings, received a bomb threat early Saturday morning via a text message from an unknown number. The police and bomb squad swept the station's building, located inside the Suara Pembaruan office in Jl. Dewi Sartika, East Jakarta. "We found nothing. No explosive substances or suspicious devices. We declare the place clear," Kramat Jati Police chief Comr. Didik Kusdianto was quoted as saying by Detik. The text message was received at about 2 a.m."We didn't wait long to go back on-air," radio announcer Rose said.

No monkeying around when it comes to coconuts Lots of monkeying around when it comes to wives."Macaques, the gray-brown monkeys locally called beruk, have long been the friends of people living in Padangpariaman regency, West Sumatra. In this coastal area, where the palms soar to heights of more than 20 meters, people pick coconuts by getting macaques to do the job..." (Ed. Note: Thinking of you, George Allen.)

"Fifty-year-old Amiruddin, who has trained monkeys since childhood in Koto village... starts simple and gets progressively difficult. A ripe coconut is put on a bamboo pole two meters high and a monkey is trained to take it. Then it is taught to climb a short coconut palm and told to drop young fruits by the trainer's shouts of "muda, muda!" (young), or "tua, tua for ripe ones."

The PETA people will be happy to know this: "Monkeys should receive loving care and be bathed once daily. They also get a diet of eggs, besides multivitamins and milk weekly, but I never give them fish, meat or chicken so that they don't get into the habit of demanding the expensive food," reveals Amiruddin, whose father is also a macaque owner.

Here's the part about the monkeying around: "With his monkeys ready to serve him, the father of 16 with two wives can afford to support his big family and send his children to high school...Another primate trainer, Buyung Syamsir, 55, has six monkeys to make a living. "Like raising children, monkeys also need love and a scolding for making mistakes," he said. His macaques also have an ability -- to pick lice from people's heads, he says, grinning. (Ed. Note: Lice in people's heads does not make me grin.)

And in the latest Indonesian foray into the global economy they are following a US model (after a fashion). "Padangpariaman Regent Muslim Kasim says the communities of coconut-picking monkeys are a unique feature of the regency and thinks the practice should be developed to encourage tourism. 'In Hawaii, I witnessed trained monkeys climbing coconut trees and tourists paying US$1 each to watch. We hope the same thing can be done here so that the income of professional monkey owners will increase,' he said at the opening of the festival."

You can't make this stuff up (unless you'reAP): "Some 20 macaques and their trainers took part in the festival, which offered a goat as its top prize and was organized by the regency's tourism office and the West Sumatra branch of state electricity company PLN. 'This festival is meant to develop the monkey's skills as part of West Sumatra's tourism program,' organizing committee chief Basril Basyar said."

Thursday, December 14, 2006

Dinah has put a lot of miles on her (2200 from NJ to KS) since last speaking with you, my dear and loyal readers, and boy oh boy, is she feeling it! But it's a beautiful day here in Kansas and I am comfily ensconced in The Eldridge Hotel to attend the Christmas party for the Lord and Master's company.

It's been a good news-bad news kind of a day for me, so in keeping with that theme here are a few tidbits.

The good news? The condition of evil "Blind Sheik" Omar abdul-Rahman is "deteriorating" as he rots in jail with a tumor on his liver. The bad news? The possibility of a new round of terror attacks in the US because of it.

The good news? The hanging effigy of an Arab stabbed in the heart with an American flag is causing uneasiness in Marin County. The bad news? The neighbors are upset. But as the effigy owner points out, if it was George Bush hanging in his yard, they neighbors would all be cheering.

As you know Dinah hearts John Bolton, and the news that he would be leaving his post at the Useless Nations was truly bad news. The good news? He's going out swinging and calling for genocide incitement charges against Ahmadinnerjacket.

The good news? The water's fine. The bad news? Unless you're fully covered like a good dhimmi you aren't allowed in.

Sunday, December 10, 2006

First, Blogger takes a prolonged dump, then the Lord and Master is being a HUGE pain in my a&& (the frying pan is for him). Then while I'm back in the midwest on a farm run (and without internet access) John Bolton gets bitten to death by the demducks, Rummy gets run out of town on a rail, and James Baker, the man who brought us Iraq-91 is back with a whiffleball of a report that makes the United States look weak and pathetic, much to the delight of our enemies.

Britain is calling for the dropping of the phrase War on Terror because it gives "succour to the terrorists' narrative by using language that, taken out of context, could be counter-productive,". This despite the Home Secretary's announcement that it is "highly likely" that the terrorists' narrative will include a holiday bombing. Ho-ho-ho.

And I can hardly wait for the new Democratic majority to take the legislative reins. How clueless is Silvestre Reyes, the new leader of the House Intelligence committee? Well, he didn't know that Al qaeda is a Sunni entity and he completely blanked on the "who is Hezbollah" question. Hah! And guess what? He knew more than the two Repub members....read it all here. I hope Mr. Reyes sees this over his coffee this morning.

Speaking of morning coffee, I'm getting pretty jacked up on my 5th cup here. Might as well put it to good use - so I'm off to the mall for more holiday torment, but before I go I will leave you with this excellent Clarice Feldman piece about the Islamic strategy for weakening the American will: Gaslighting America.

Saturday, December 09, 2006

Notice the high frequency of consanguineous marriages in the Islamic world? Does it mean anything? I didn't get my genetics degree at K-mart but if history HAS shown us one thing, it has shown us that too much inbreeding leads to extinction. I know Mark Steyn has a different take on this, but is it just a matter of time for the Arabs? From the British Medical Journal:

"Available data suggest that genetic and congenital disorders are more common in Arab countries than in industrialised countries; recessively inherited disorders account for a substantial proportion of physical and mental handicap...

High consanguinity rates—25-60% of all marriages are consanguineous, and the rate of first cousin marriages is high (figs 1 and 2; table A on bmj.com).4 w1

In addition, isolated subpopulations with a high level of inbreeding exist.

Furthermore, in many parts of the Arab world the society is still tribal.56 w1

This has made the epidemiology of genetic disorders complicated, as many families and tribal groups are descended from a limited number of ancestors and some conditions are confined to specific villages, families, and tribal groups, leading to an unusual burden of genetic diseases in these communities (table B on bmj.com)125

The Jews are not promoting brain washing the children in military training camps, teaching them how to blow themselves up and cause maximum deaths of Jews and other non Muslims. The Jews don't hijack planes, nor kill athletes at the Olympics. The Jews don't traffic slaves, nor have leaders calling for Jihad and death to all the Infidels. Perhaps the world's Muslims should consider investing more in standard education and less in blaming the Jews for all their problems. Regardless of your feelings about the crisis between Israel and the Palestinians and Arab neighbors, even if you believe there is more culpability on Israel's part, the following two sentences really say it all:

1. If the Arabs put down their weapons today, there would be no moreviolence.2. If the Jews put down their weapons today, there would be no more Israel.

"JAKARTA (Reuters) - Mention the words Islamic and fashion and most people think of big black burqas or shapeless chadors. But a fashion show of Islamic clothing in Indonesia on Tuesday shattered the stereotype, as dozens of models sashayed down the catwalk in outfits that complied with Muslim tradition but also oozed funk and flounce. "(Ed. note: Too bad that such oozing funk and flounce on the 'Muslim street' results in floggings and stonings.)

"Muslim fashion should not be identified with long black scary attire..."(Ed. note: No, it should be identified with the violent political faction of a religious cult.)

"Indonesia is the world's most populous Muslim country where most people follow a moderate form of Sunni Islam. Some women wear headscarves, but often with the trendy Western-style clothing favoured by most women."(Ed. Note: Can't have it both ways, girls.)

"In Saudi Arabia, the birthplace of Islam"(Ed. Note: and the birthplace of Islamic terrorism)"which practices an austere version of the faith, women must wear the abaya, a black robe that covers them from head to toe."

"Many Muslim women around the world have adopted the abaya as the proper Islamic attire, and in some cases, such as Afghanistan, modified it to cover the face as well."(Ed. Note: curtain muncher alert!)

MODESTY AND STYLE(read: uncovered meat protected from perverted men.)

"On the Jakarta catwalk, the outfits were long and loose and the models wore headscarves, but they were anything but dull.

"There are more and more women wearing Muslim fashion to parties. It can provide comfort since it is loose and it can also protect women from perverted men if they walk alone at night."

Some designers and models said modest Muslim clothing was appropriate to prevent crimes against women such as rape, touting an argument often used by clerics to convince women to cover up.

"To cover our head with a veil is a must. The veil must cover the forbidden parts.(Ed. Note: Your freaking head is a forbidden part? WTFIT? I would be remiss if I didn't mention Brittany Spears forbidden parts here - maybe you can understand why the Muzzies are calling for the abaya - seeing Brittany Spears caesarean scar and beyond must be making heads explode all over the 'Muslim Street'.)

"Women are priceless things, the more priceless she is, the more protection is given," said Samira Mochammad Bafagih, a 25-year-old fashion journalist.

"Men are not likely to seduce women in veils. Thus I feel more comfortable if I walk alone at night. I agree that women without veils are more likely to be seduced. There are quite many rape cases, aren't there?"

Sunday, December 03, 2006

It is so screwed up I don't know where to begin. I have posts lined up in the hangar waiting to carpet bomb the Islamic jihad and once again, blogger has taken a dump.

All the formatting keys have vanished. Vanished. And you KNOW what a slave to formatting I am...Who knows when I will be back in action? Getting help from Blogger is a joke. But enough about me...off to lurk about.